When speaking about Ramiz Guliyev, there could be no better description of his talent, than that given by Mstislav Rostropovich, who said: “Ramiz Guliyev’s performance is a miracle. He is the Paganini of the East”. Ramiz Guliyev (1947- ) is unequaled as a tar player in contemporary Azerbaijan. For the past decade, he’s been passing the tradition of tar playing on to his son Ayyub (1984-), and when they perform together, they’re an excellent, unrivaled duo. At 14, Ramiz joined the Shur Ensemble that was invited to perform in Moscow and various regions of the Soviet Union. Then he went on to study and graduate from Baku’s Music Conservatory (now Academy).

Today, Professor Guliyev heads the Department of National Musical Instruments at the Academy, which includes 30 professors and approximately 100 students. He was the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Society’s soloist in 1964-94, and the headmaster of the faculty of folk musical instruments of Baku Music Academy in 1990-2000. The Azerbaijani virtuoso musician was awarded a special prize in the International Folklore Festival held in the USA by the UNESCO in 1988. He has given successful concerts in Turkey, Afghanistan, Syria, India, Switzerland, Germany, Pakistan, Tunisia, Japan, the US, Canada, Denmark, Iran, Iraq, France, and Poland. He has written several authoritative works describing the techniques of tar playing, as he feels it’s his duty to future generations. In 2007 according to the decree of the President of Azerbaijan Republic for the high achievement in the musical culture, Ramiz Guliyev was awarded the highest award of Azerbaijan- “Glory.”

Azerbaijani tar virtuoso also successfully performed at the 29th Fajr International Music Festival in Iran which led the organizing committee to award the highest prize of the festival, the “Golden Cheng,” to Maestro Guliyev. The Iranian press called the Azerbaijani master the “Father of Tar” and “The True Teacher.” The tar, a long-necked plucked lute and one of the most important musical instruments in Iran and the Caucasus, was included in the UNESCO list in 2012. The tar is traditionally crafted and performed throughout Azerbaijan and is depicted on the Azerbaijani national banknote of one manat nominal value. Professor Guliyev, who truly is a virtuoso tar player, performs at Tirgan Festival 2017. This year Tirgan has invited Professor Ramiz Guliyev for an incredible performance. For those of generations of Iranians who are familiar with Ramiz Guliyev’s work, it is sure to raise feelings of Nostalgia. And so, the performance is appropriately named “Nostalgia.”

Joining Ramiz Guliyev on the stage, Maziar Heidari performs on the Piano. In this moving collaboration, Heidari aims to bring the audience closer together through an innovative yet traditional musical journey. Maziar Heidari, a Juno Award judge, holds a Masters in Conducting from the University of Toronto. He is an assistant conductor for the Hart House Orchestra, a pianist for Orchestra Toronto, music director and conductor for the ICOT Symphony Orchestra, and a freelance educator, pianist, composer, and conductor. Heidari began studying music at a young age and trained with Ardeshir Rouhani and Farhad Fakhreddini. He continued his education at the Art University of Tehran and has taught and collaborated with national and international musicians. Among his credentials, Maziar Heidari has served as composer, assistant conductor, and pianist for the Iran National Music Orchestra for more than ten years and is currently a member of the Canadian League of Composers, SOCAN, and the Canadian Music Centre. He is also one of the co-founders of Iranian-Canadian Composers of Toronto (ICOT).

Ali Massoudi, born in Tehran in 1973, is a skilled percussionist who has trained under masters like Bijan Kamkar and Farhad Andalibi. He has collaborated with Tehran Symphony Orchestra as well as the Iran’s National Orchestra and various popular traditional bands and has also performed in several concerts in Iran, Europe, Canada, China, and Cuba. He is the author of 5 educational books for tombak, daf, and udu. He leads the Navaye Kimia Ensemble which has had many performances in Toronto and has collaborated with Andalib, Shiraz and Barg ensembles in concerts in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.

This article originally appeared in the 2017 edition of Tirgan Magazine.

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Tirgan Media

Tirgan Media sets out to cultivate cross-cultural dialogues using the international language of art and opens a window to promote Iranian art and culture to the Canadian and International audiences. This media with the publication of the latest print Magazine, video reports, and digital production, composed of articles, interviews, and various artworks in both English and Persian, aggrandizes Tirgan Festival's missions. Additionally, it provides an in-depth coverage of events while exhibiting the materialization of Tirgan programming by the virtue of relentless activities of over three hundred art-loving volunteers.